EUROPA - Research and Innovation: What's New in Innovation

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

This post follows the previous one, "a short definition of Sustainable Development (SusDev.) with good reference links for more background reading but first please read on.

The Sustainability "Science and Engineering" theme with it's highly complex ramifications have undoubtedly lead to information overload, much confusion and therefore, in all probability, inadequate and ineffective responses to the many, inter-related challenges raised. (exponentially increasing resource waste?)

Here I wish to present, what I feel could become, one of the most important theoretical approaches to alleviate current misunderstandings in what is emerging as mankind's most important challenge(s), namely, climate-change and specifically energy - related solutions to global warming, air pollution mortality, and energy security. [It compliments and clarifies the earlier Pacala and Socolow Wedge Approach widely commented].

Mark Z. Jacobson of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Stanford University, Stanford, California, USA , in this "Review of solutions to global warming, air pollution, and energy security" is a substantial, much needed, contribution to alleviate this situation.

Mark justifies his work as follows:"Air pollution and global warming are two of the greatest threats to human and animal health and political stability. Energy insecurity and rising prices of conventional energy sources are also major threats to economic and political stability. Many alternatives to conventional energy sources have been proposed, but analyses of such options have been limited in breadth and depth. The purpose of this paper is to review several major proposed solutions to these problems with respect to multiple externalities of each option. With such information, policy makers can make better decisions about supporting various options. Otherwise, market forces alone will drive decisions that may result in little benefit to climate, air pollution, or energy–security problems."

His approach is one of weighting and ranking renewable and alternative energy sources and resources.